Easiest Salmon Florentine (with Blender Hollandaise)

November 9, 2012 - Cooking & Recipes, CSA Recipes, Main Dish, Seafood, spinach - 22 comments
Pink Asters

Asters–A Sure Sign of Fall

I always think that fall is bittersweet.  The colors are beautiful but the days are growing short.  The harvest is bountiful but the fruits and tender vegetables are fading.  Of course one of my favorite fall greens is an exception–spinach is now arriving in abundance from both of my CSAs.  Hooray!

So now the question of the day is… how many ways can I make spinach?  That my kids will eat, I might add.

One of my standard answers is a Salmon Florentine recipe that is stripped-to-the-bones easy, but full of flavor.  It dates back to my days as a corporate Mom, when I’d occasionally arrive home, realize I was missing an ingredient for dinner and need to ad lib.  (And disasters only happen on the evening with the early kids carpool, right?)

Salmon Florentine with Parsley Potato

Salmon Florentine with Parsley Potatoes

Freezer to the rescue, I tried to keep on hand some salmon fillets (to thaw quickly in water), and fresh or frozen spinach.  Then, with a handful of other common ingredients, I had a perfect  contingency plan.  And one that is tasty and seriously healthy!

We’ve all read about the health benefits from the omega 3 fatty acids in fish like salmon.  But did you know that more and more research shows that the benefits are greater from eating the fish itself rather than taking a fish oil supplement.  (If you want more news like this, “like” my Facebook Page, where I periodically cite interesting new studies related to nutrition or green living.)  And it’s a whole lot tastier!

Salmon Florentine with Delicata Squash

Salmon Florentine with Delicata Squash

Salmon Florentine

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • Approx  1.5 lb of salmon filet
  • 1 package of frozen spinach, or a large bag of fresh spinach

Blender Hollandaise

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 egg (pasteurized for greatest safety)*
  • 1 T lemon juice

Directions

1. Season salmon with salt and pepper if desired, then broil  for a few minutes on each side until fish is cooked through (will change from dark pink/red to light pink & flake easily)

2.  Heat frozen spinach or steam fresh spinach until warm and wilted.

3.  To prepare hollandaise, blend egg and lemon juice in blender or food processor.  Heat butter to boiling then drizzle slowly into whirling egg & lemon juice mixture.  Blend until thickened.  If hollandaise fails to thicken you can pour it into a saucepan and heat, stirring constantly, for a minute or two until it does.  (The hollandaise recipe worked perfectly for me for years, but doesn’t now and I have not been able to analyze why, though some sources say the Vitamix blades sit too high for this)

4.  Divide spinach on four plates, top with a salmon filet, and and spoon (or pour) hollandaise over both.

5.  Enjoy fall’s bounty!

*Warning: the hollandaise probably does not reach a temperature that will kill pathogens, and undercooked eggs may pose a health risk, per the FDA.

Tip: Spinach is consistently on the EWG’s “dirty dozen” list of most contaminated fruits and vegetables so consider organic if that is available to you.

Easy Salmon Florentine

Salmon Florentine

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